Kenyan lawyer, scholar, and Pan-Africanist Patrick Lumumba has urged Africans to confront xenophobia with love, unity, and stronger economic cooperation across the continent.

Mr Lumumba made the call at The Bridge Club’s 2026 end-of-year event in Lagos on Thursday. He said Africans must recognise their shared history, strengthen continental solidarity and promote economic independence to earn respect globally.

“Where there is hate, it drowns in a sea of love,” Mr Lumumba said, urging African countries to respond to hostility against fellow Africans with greater hospitality and cooperation.

He described xenophobia and Afrophobia as contradictions of the ideals of Pan-Africanism, which promote African unity, shared identity and collective development.

The scholar recalled previous xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2008 and between 2010 and 2015, noting that hostility toward fellow Africans was not peculiar to the country.

He, however, said the recent incidents in South Africa had brought renewed attention to the dangers of discrimination against Africans within the continent.

Mr Lumumba traced some of Africa’s divisions to colonialism, particularly the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference, where European powers partitioned the continent into spheres of influence. He said the colonial arrangement created artificial boundaries that continued to undermine African unity and cooperation.

According to him, Africans must demonstrate their commitment to Pan-Africanism through practical actions rather than declarations and diplomatic engagements. He advocated increased intra-African trade, local manufacturing, economic integration and easier movement across African countries.

“We earn respect when we begin to do things for ourselves,” he said, citing locally manufactured products and reduced dependence on imported goods as important steps.

(NAN)